News

Radio waves: Money talking

Perhaps because his pay packet has been the subject of some discussion since the publication of RTE’s salary figures last month, value for money is a hot topic for Gerry Ryan (2FM, Mon-Fri). And fittingly for a man who has justified the €487,492 he earned in 2004 by comparing it with the substantial advertising revenue pulled in by his show, Ryan has of late been taking a different tack on the subject of rip-off Ireland: that compared to what people pay abroad, maybe things aren’t so bad here, after all.

And for a time last week, it seemed that maybe he had a point. As his listeners tried to outdo each other with lurid tales of continental overcharging, Ryan gave off the air of a man at once gleefully outraged and triumphantly vindicated in his hunch that the begrudgers may need more perspective.